Upwork’s List of Most In-Demand Skills for Freelancers for 2023

In a press release, Upwork, the American work marketplace announced its list of in-demand skills for independent professionals. These skills range from technology to marketing to customer service & admin support to accounting & consulting, and design & creative.

According to data from Upwork, about 39% of the American workforce, or 60 million Americans freelanced in 2022. 2019 Data from the World Bank also showed that 46% of the world’s working population was self-employed. Margaret Lilani, VP of talent solutions at Upwork noted, “We are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime, tectonic shift in the notion of work, where skilled professionals are rethinking what they want from their careers, and are gravitating toward the flexibility, autonomy, and benefits of freelancing,”

These skills were selected based on US freelancer earnings between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, and each skill had at least 500 active projects during that timeframe. The skills were listed based on their year-over-year growth on the Upwork platform, and the categories that recorded the highest growth were sales & business development (54%), data entry (47%), accounting (45%), and 3D animation (44%). And the year-over-year growth was estimated by comparing freelancer earnings in 2022 to freelancer earnings in 2021.

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In the tech category, the most in-demand skills for 2023 were full-stack development, front-end development, Backend Development, mobile app development, Web Design, e-Commerce Website Development, UX/UI Design, CMS Development, Manual Testing, Scripting & Automation. 

In the marketing category, the most in-demand skills for 2023 were SEO, Social Media Marketing, Other Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Sales & Business Development, Telemarketing, Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Marketing Strategy, and Marketing Automation. 

The most in-demand customer service & admin support skills for 2023 included email, phone & chat support, general virtual assistance, data entry, digital project management, general research services, tech support, dropshipping & order processing, community management, market research, and transcription. 

The most in-demand accounting & consulting skills for 2023 include accounting, recruiting & talent sourcing, bookkeeping, financial analysis & modeling, management consulting, instructional design, HR administration, business analysis & strategy, tax preparation, and financial management/CFO.  

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‍The most in-demand design & creative skills for 2023 include graphic design, video editing, illustration, 3D animation, presentation design, image editing, cartoons & comics, product & industrial design, 2D animation, and video production.